6 Effective Ways to Take the Monotony Out of the Meeting

Entertainment is an unspoken aspect in planning an educational conference, business convention or a corporate meeting. While meeting planners have no way of controlling a meeting’s topic, it’s the engagement during the meeting and activities outside of the conference hall that eradicate a monotonous convention. Below are six tips on how to engage your attendees and create a more memorable meeting experience.

1. Change it up.

Switch the presentation style every so often to maintain an engaging momentum for the meeting. Alleviate meeting monotony, striking a balance between the presentation, panel discussions, videos, break outs, audience participation and so forth.

2. Reenact lessons learned.

Break up attendants in groups of four to eight people. Using the topic of the conference, assign each group a medium for reiterating the business meeting’s objective. Have one group develop a case study, another YouTube video, a slide show, and other media to reenact lessons learned from the conference.

3. Separate the meeting from eating.

Although it may seem cost effective to schedule working lunches and dinners, clanking forks and wait staff interactions detract from the business agenda. Effective Meetings recommends scheduling meeting and eating agendas separately. Allow a minimum of 30 minutes for a meal.

4. Move around.

It goes without stating that meeting destinations with a few select attractions ease planning. On St. Simons Island, the

Photo Courtesy of GeorgiaTouristGuide.com. A walking tour at Fort Frederica reveals a historical, awe-inspiring account of the clash between the French and Spanish on St. Simons Island.

lighthouse and Fort Frederica make for a great walking tour. Plus, research has shown that moving around can improve concentration!

Wherever the meeting, design a walking tour with plenty of interesting things to review. Optional: Have the attendees make note of three interesting elements to share with the group upon the return to the meeting. If it’s not too much of a stretch, have guests correlate the walking tour to the theme of the conference or corporate meeting.

5. Culinary speaking.

Plan a dinner with the focus on the region’s culinary traditions. Make the dining experience interactive with a presentation from the hotel or restaurant’s chef, historian or even a local vintner.

6. Unusual engagements.

Plan a memorable activity with the entire group. Try to opt for a unique attraction, such as the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Georgia meeting goers can gain an appreciate for sea turtles, as well as other local wildlife. Depending on the time of year, you might just get to take a walk and look for American alligators! Contact the center for more information on groups and seasonal activities.

A collaborative or individual art experience presents another unforgettable outing for group participation. In close proximity to The King and Prince Resort, the Glynn Art Gallery hosts group painting events, with the canvas and paint included.